Month: November 2015

“This year, I am going to blog a funny story for Thanksgiving instead of the usual “I am grateful for…” I told my husband. And I got busy typing and editing a memorable family story. To share a funny accident.

“One of the most difficult things to give away is kindness; usually it comes back to you.” – Anonymous

“Note: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Element Associates and Midlife Boulevard.”

Did you know that over 40 million Americans are caregivers? They do this, not as a career choice, but because a loved one or a friend needs their help. And because they do this, “Random Acts of Kindness for Caregivers” is in full swing this month.

Forty million – that is an absolutely staggering number of caregivers. And as “boomers,” we are probably the highest demographic of unpaid caregivers as our parents – and other loved ones – age. Additionally, many boomers still have children at home, plus jobs – creating a mountain of things to accomplish in a day.

Before my father passed away from Alzheimer’s Disease, I, along with my siblings and our spouses, assisted our mother with Dad’s care. How she managed his care is nothing short of a miracle. Many people didn’t even know he was afflicted because of how well she did her job. Her goal was to keep Dad at home for as long as possible.

But it came at a cost. She was burned out, and as his “sundowners” progressed, her lack of sleep caught up with her.

My mother relished a few hours to herself, either to go to the store or a sewing group or even be home by herself “putzing.” Unless someone has had first-hand experience with care-giving, it is hard to even imagine being – or witnessing – someone on call 24/7.

Random Acts of Kindness for Caregivers

If you know someone who is in this position, there are several ways you can help. During November, AARP is looking for “Random Acts of Kindness for Caregivers.” There is a video (below) with suggestions, but witnessing first-hand what a caregiver needs, here are a few things I know our family appreciated:

Time! If you can, offer to be with the patient an hour or two so the caregiver can take a nap, get a haircut, exercise, or go to lunch with friends.

Research: Sometimes a caregiver doesn’t have the time to search for assistance. If you know of an agency that can help the patient and caregiver, print the information and/or call the agency for details that you can forward to the caregiver.

Offer to run errands. Many times, especially with a dementia patient, a 15-minute stop at the pharmacy turns into a much longer – and exhausting – trip.

Make a meal – or drop off a carry-out from a favorite restaurant.

Call and check on the care-give. Remind them to care for their own self, too.

Send a card or note of encouragement.

In order to spread the word for “Random Acts of Kindness for Caregivers,” you can enter a contest and share a story on how you are supporting your favorite caregiver. Winners will share a cash prize, and we can all share ideas on how to make the lives of our caregivers a bit brighter and let them know – most importantly – that they are not alone.

“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.” To this day, especially in times of “disaster,” I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers – so many caring people in this world.” – Fred Rogers

It’s hard to believe that yesterday at this time, sleet, rain and snow flurries were taking turns smacking against the windows. It was gray, cold and dreary – a typical November day in our area of the world. Twenty-four hours later, the sun is streaming through the windows of a pretty late-fall day, and as I had let the dog back in the house, I could hear the comforting bells chiming at the church a block away.

“The sanctity of our battlefields, monuments, and veterans institutions is of utmost importance to preserve military history and pay respect to those who fought.” Henry Waxman

One of the perks of having an “almost-empty-nest” is the ability to travel more frequently. As it happens, the opportunity for an extended weekend away from home has happened a few times this fall. Most recently, I tagged along with my husband on a trip to Maryland.

I had never been there before, and we had a great time getting to our destination. Driving through Ohio, I was manning the interior controls of the rental car, and almost cooked us inside out when I turned on the heated seats full blast while trying to find the air conditioning. Fun times – always a laugh a minute with yours truly. Continue reading “Patriotic path to Veterans Day”

“I was scrolling on the Net one day; In the merry, merry month of May. I was taken by surprise, with so many headline “whys;” Scrolling through the Net one day…” – Lynne Cobb

When she sees clickbait, she instantly…

By nature, I have always been inquisitive. At the ripe old age of, um, 11 years-old, you’d find me reading the newspaper, with a keen love of the Dear Abby and Ann Landers’ columns. The headlines would attract me, and I couldn’t wait to read the sage advice of these opinionated ladies.

Of course, I loved the opinion page, too. Raging debates among readers, especially in sound-off type columns, were another addiction of mine. Catchy deadlines would draw me in, so, it is really no surprise that now, with the world at my fingertips, I am never more than a click away from reading some crazy content.

Headlines have always befuddled me. I love to write, but finding the perfect headline can cost me hours of thought time. And now, as I prepare to lead a social media class for boomers and beyond, I find myself getting hooked on headlines that I know are going to disappoint me, and waste my time. Yet, I can’t not click…

When you hear the reason why she wrote this…

If you didn’t know it, clickbait is the term used for headlines that lead one to read the most insane copy posted on the Internet. For those who need a definition, here you go:

click·bait: /ˈklikbāt/ Noun; informal (on the Internet) content, especially that of a sensational or provocative nature, whose main purpose is to attract attention and draw visitors to a particular web page.

So while I have been diligently searching for some examples of clickbait to use in my presentation, I have kind of become a statistic. And a junkie. My name is Lynne, and I am hooked on clickbait.

I mean, who wouldn’t click on jewels like these:

The crazy food that will make you lose 15 pounds in one…

She discovers her husband doing this, and what happens next…

The secret that dermatologists don’t want you to know is hiding…

He grabs a microphone and what happens next…

The top 12 reasons why you should…

It used to be the off-the-wall Websites that used this nonsense to grab readers’ attention. But recently I have even seen major news organizations use this tactic! Ugh! Please make it stop! Though, to be fair, if the strategy didn’t work, they wouldn’t be using it.

You will not believe what blogger discovers during important…

Admitting that you have a problem is the first step in healing, right? So, knowing that I can’t always control my finger from clicking, I have resorted to hiding my mouse and tying my arm behind my back, then using a blindfold bound around my head. Ok – not true. But sometimes I really do close my eyes and scroll past the temptation. Instead of actually clicking the story, I peruse the comments to determine if reading the content is worth my time. Then I develop another problem – I get sucked into the comments sphere! Help!!!

When soul-searching her problem, what she does next inspires…

Okay. So I admitted that I can’t come up with awesome headlines, and that I am a sucker for clickbait. But what I discovered about myself in the process is so awe-inspiring! So remarkable!

She realized she could drive traffic to her blog with one simple hack…

Really, it’s true! Every headline on this page, I made up myself! So I can write to my heart’s content, slap some silly gimmick headline on it, match up my SEO and be viral in a moment! Woot! Yay, me!!!

What she shares with her readers will bring you to…

Seriously, I wouldn’t do that to you. Yes, I want to be a rich and famous, well-known writer. So, no, I won’t resort to these guerrilla tactics to get likes and views and all kinds of accolades. I will go back to wasting precious hours working on the perfect headline. Unless, of course, I just go and click over here read for a moment and get distracted for some, um, inspiration….